This will be my last note of 2023, a year that has had its share of heartache on the world stage, within our family, and in the lives of many clients and friends. I turn again and again to these words from the poem “Let This Darkness be a Bell Tower” by Rainer Maria Rilke, translated by Joanna Macy and Anita Barrows:
Quiet friend who has come so far,
feel how your breathing makes more space around you.
Let this darkness be a bell tower
and you the bell. As you ring,
what batters you becomes your strength.
Move back and forth into the change.
As I move back and forth with the changes, I try and keep gratitude front and centre. Here are just a few of the things I’m feeling grateful for as we close out 2023 and welcome 2024:
• Kind notes from readers when something I’ve created resonates with them
• The clients who trust me with their words and their books
• Witnessing my beautiful and adventurous daughter fledge the nest
• Wonderful visits this Fall with my parents, my sis and brother-in-law, and a dear friend from overseas
• Our neighbourhood community and our Book Nook!
• The amazing, fun choir I joined this Fall
• Long walks in preparation for my big Camino trip in Spring of 2024 (more details coming in the New Year!)
• The wee writing group I am in and all that we share – words, feelings, laughter, tears
• My partner Malve’s incredible meals and the love she pours into everything she does for our family
• Reconnecting and having visits with two very special people from my past (20+ years on!)
EXCITING BOOK NEWS!
My book, Writing Your Way: A 40-Day Path of Self-Discovery, now has an official BOOK TRAILER!
Huge thanks to my talented friend, Janet Hawkwood, for sharing her video expertise, and to the readers who were brave enough to go on camera! It was a fun and meaningful co-creation and I hope you enjoy it.
Check it out on my website or on my YouTube page.
Give the gift of inspiration and self-discovery this season!
If you live in Halifax-Dartmouth, most of our local, independent shops carry it.
And if you want a personalized signed copy, contact me directly!
Or buy it online HERE
